"Mr. President, there is a
monster under my bed"
"No there isn't son, now go to sleep."
What's a person to do? Understandably we can't spend every waking hour worrying about this lest we drive ourselves insane. And yes there is the old adage that "you could get hit by a car going to work tomorrow". Sure that is true in some sense, but I don't have the head of my country repeatedly telling me to beware of motor vehicles. So while we don't want to increase our stress levels anymore then they currently are, we still all want to know how we can be more vigilant. Vigilant…are you as tired of this new buzz word as I am? I didn't even know this word existed until about a year and a half ago. Now it is used in every other goddamn sentence. Vigilant is the new "don't go there" or "talk to the hand". I'm sick of being told to be vigilant, how about they just ask us to be prepared in case bad shit happens. That is a little more to the point and has that street cred the kids crave.
So how do we be more watchful? Sure we are warned all the time that we could be in potential danger but what steps can we follow to lessen the chance that we might be harmed? We've kind of been left to our own devices up until now. What does being watchful mean? We are supposed to closely observe our surroundings? So great we have a city of people walking around like they are constantly in a grocery store swiveling their necks and looking in all directions. And guess what, the people at work are starting to get annoyed at me for staring at them all the time. Closely observing? Unless I see a guy holding a bomb with the fuse lit, I'm pretty much no help. What am I on Third Watch? Sorry, but my ability to sniff out terrorists is a little limited. So what can I do?
The Department of Homeland Security website
has posted tips on being more vigilant (aka being prepared in case bad
shit happens). This is definitely a step in the right direction. Included
are three steps to be more properly prepared for unexpected emergencies.
1) Assemble an emergency kit
2) Make a family communication plan
3) Learn more about readiness
Learn more about readiness? Umm…Readiness: to be ready or available for service. Okay, got it. Once again…a good start, but still a tad vague no?
At the end of the day what people really want to know is what can they do in their lives to reduce the chance that they will be exposed to an act of terrorism. Well, I think I have it figured out. Here goes:
The key to improving your preparedness for unexpected terrorist threats is to be lazy, unambitious, and cheap.
If you don't have any dreams of traveling, don't have a high powered job like for example in the financial district, don't make any plans to go out to large sporting or entertainment events, and generally don't leave the house that much, you should be fine. The first steps to improving your security are to be idle and boring.
You read it here first folks, in these uncertain times it pays to be a couch potato!
...but that's just my opinion.
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